About Headcount Buddy: who built it, how to join, and what it costs
Who’s behind Headcount Buddy
Headcount Buddy is built by Useful Labs, a company focused on applying artificial intelligence to real, everyday human problems. Hugo Aponte is a co-founder of Useful Labs, and Headcount Buddy is one of the team’s flagship products.
The idea is simple: running a sports group shouldn’t mean drowning in group-chat messages and manual headcounts. Useful Labs built Headcount Buddy to handle that operational chaos over plain text messages — no app required, for you or your players.
How to get access
Headcount Buddy is currently in alpha testing — which means it’s up and running with real organizers today, and the team is actively making it better based on what they learn.
Getting on the list takes one text:
You:
ALPHAHeadcount Buddy: “You’re on the list! We’ll be in touch soon.”
Just text ALPHA to the Headcount Buddy number and you’re on the early-access waitlist. That’s it — no form to fill out, no account to create.
If you have questions or want to start a team, email the team at help@headcountbuddy.com.
What it costs
Right now, Headcount Buddy is completely free.
The only thing you pay during alpha is whatever your mobile carrier normally charges for text messages — standard message-and-data rates. Headcount Buddy itself costs nothing.
That’s also true for the beta phase coming up next. Beta will be free for everyone as well.
Looking further ahead: as more people use Headcount Buddy and real infrastructure costs grow, the team expects to offer paid subscriptions down the road. A few things worth knowing about that:
- You would only ever pay if you choose to subscribe. No surprise charges, ever.
- Many alpha and beta testers are likely to keep discounts or free access beyond the testing phases — being early has its perks.
The short version: join now, use it free, and you’ll be in the best position whenever anything changes later.